A Kentucky man with a violent past is once again at the center of a murder investigation – this time in the brutal deaths of a mother and her teenage daughter.
Joshua W. Cottrell, 44, has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence after police say the bodies of 37-year-old Kayla Blake and her 13-year-old daughter, Kennedi McWhorter, were discovered Friday morning during a welfare check in Rowan County.
Authorities said Blake’s coworker called 911 around 11 a.m. after she failed to show up for work.
When officers arrived at her home, they found both victims unresponsive. The Rowan County coroner pronounced them dead at the scene. Details of the murder were not released.
Later that day, Kentucky State Police located Cottrell at a Paducah-area hospital, where he was treated, released, and then taken into custody. He is currently being held at the McCracken County Jail on a $1 million bond.
The shocking double murder comes nearly two decades after Cottrell confessed to another killing, according to court records obtained by WKYT.
In 2003, he admitted to killing Richie Phillips and stuffing the victim’s body into a suitcase. At the time, he claimed self-defense, but was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Now, investigators are piecing together how the ex-con with a history of violence ended up accused in yet another murder.
The investigation into the deaths of Blake and her daughter remains ongoing.
